Overview of the Application Process for Graduates of a BC Teacher Education Program

The information in this section applies to you if you are completing or have recently
completed a teacher education program at a BC university.

Note: The Teacher Regulation Branch is moving to only accepting applications for
teacher certification through the secure Applicants'
Area of our website. This change will benefit you as an applicant because
you will be able to receive updates about the status of your application and monitor
its progress online. The online application process improves the security of your
information and the service we are able to provide you.

How to apply for a Ministry of Education certificate through the Teacher Regulation
Branch

Create your online account.
If you don’t have a BCeID, you will need to register for one. Log in to Your Account with your BCeID.

After you have entered Your Account, click on Your Application in the menu.

Complete the Certificate of Qualification (COQ) application form. Make sure to list all your academic credentials
and all post-secondary institutions you have attended in the Academic Qualifications
section. This will avoid delays later in the process. Be sure to consent to a criminal
record check.

Submit your completed COQ application form. If any information is missing, you will be prompted to complete or correct
the information on the form. When the form is complete, you can submit your application
and pay the non-refundable application fee.

Review the Application Documents that
will need to be provided as part of your application. Ask the applicable institutions
and individuals to complete and send the relevant documents directly to us. For
example, all your post-secondary institutions must send us your official university
transcripts, and your character references must send us the Confidential Character
Reference Forms. If these documents arrive at the Teacher Regulation Branch before
your application, we will keep them and add them to your file when we receive your
application.

Wait for an email from us, which will arrive within five to seven business days
after we receive your application. We will create a file for you and place it in
a queue based on the date we received it. The email confirms that we have received
your application and will give you a file number.

Note that documents will arrive for your file at different times from different
sources. We will add each document to your file as it arrives (as long as it is
properly identified with your full name).

Please be patient as we review all files according to the date we receive them.
Once an evaluator has reviewed your file, we will send you an email indicating any
missing documents. At this point, you will be able to track in the Your Account
which documents are outstanding.

Videos about how to apply for a Certificate of Qualification have been prepared
to help guide you through the certificate application process. Explore the videos.

Teacher Qualification Service (TQS)

You also need to apply to the Teacher Qualification Service (TQS) for your TQS category.
Public school boards use this category as one element in determining your salary
level. When we send you your Ministry of Education teaching certificate, we will
also send a copy of your certificate to the TQS as they will need this as part of
your application to them. Please see the TQS
website for more information.

How long will the application process take?

After you complete your program, your university will send us their recommendation
that you receive a Ministry of Education teaching certificate. Some universities
will send complete transcripts with their recommendation.

You can help speed up the process by sending all required documents to us before
your Faculty of Education sends us your transcript and recommendation. If we have
all your required documents, we will evaluate your application within one to three weeks
after we receive the transcript and recommendation. However, if your file is incomplete,
we will not be able to evaluate your application until we receive all of the outstanding
documents. This could significantly delay your application.

How to find out the status of your application

Once your file has been evaluated, we will send you an email with further information.
You can then enter Your Account to track your status and check which documents
are outstanding.

University information session

Near the end of your teacher education program, your Faculty of Education will invite
a representative from the Teacher Regulation Branch to speak to the graduating education
students about how to apply for a Ministry of Education teaching certificate. It
is important that you attend this information session.

What are the possible outcomes of our evaluation?

Your application may result in qualifying you for a Professional, Trades or Conditional Certificate of Qualification.
These are not restricted to any subject area or grade level, and they are valid
for BC's kindergarten to Grade 12 education system. If you are eligible for a certificate,
we will email you and direct you to Your Account to pay the annual practice
fee.

Alternatively, the evaluation may determine that you are ineligible for certification.
This means that you currently do not qualify for a Certificate of Qualification.
Our evaluation letter will tell you the specific requirements you must meet to qualify
for a certificate.
If you are found to be ineligible for certification, you have
the right to request a reconsideration. Under Section 32 of the Teachers Act,
you have the ability to request that the Director of Certification reconsider the
decision to deny certification or to issue a certificate other than the type for
which you applied. If after reconsideration you are still dissatisfied, you may
appeal the reconsideration to the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation. The reconsideration and appeal
process and fees will be explained in your evaluation result letter(s).

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) and the
Teachers Act

The information we collect as part of the application is in compliance with FOIPPA.
The Teachers Act authorizes our collection of the personal information we
request. Please contact our office if you have questions about the information we
request.